Follow Me, Beth
by xBlueMagnoliax
Summary: Daryl continues to believe that Beth is alive somewhere and has taken measures to lead her home to him.
1. Chapter 1

Follow Me, Beth  
Chapter 1

* * *

**_…THEN…_**

"Let's wrap this up, Quick and quiet." Rick said before walking over to Abraham, who had a map spread open on a check out counter. "You know where we're goin', yet?"

"Yeah. Best route out of here is a straight shot down 85," Abe said. "We should've been on the road hours ago."

"We don't know what to expect out there. Best to be prepared," Rick said, looking around as the others carried bags of equipment, ammunition and canned food out to load the vehicles.

"We were prepared days ago. That hospital…"

Rick's jaw tensed at the mere mention of it and his eyes darted towards Abraham. If the soldier knew what was good for him, he would choose his next words wisely.

"We wasted supplies that we now have to take time to replace… for nothing-"

"It wasn't for nothing," Rick said, pressing his fist against the counter.

"No, it was for a girl who was already gone, and is now dead," Abraham said.

"You don't know that-"

"We saw a body," Abe said.

"We saw what was left of a body. Daryl says it wasn't her, it wasn't her," Rick said.

"It had her knife on it."

Rick rubbed his forehead, pinching the space between his eyebrows, feeling the tension pooling there. "That doesn't mean anythin'."

"Means she's dead. Yeah, we did her a lot of good goin' after her. If we'd left well enough alone, she'd be gone, but she'd be alive."

"How can you say that?" Rick asked, dropping his hand and looking at Abe.

"'Cause, now, your group is broken, and D.C.? Well, it's the only hope they have left to hold on to," Abraham said. "You're all in such denial, and your man's little mission to go chasin' ghosts… it's gonna slow us down or get more of us killed."

"You talk like you know," Rick scoffed. "You don't." He looked over at Abe. "I get that this mission comes first to you, but Daryl? He's my brother. Beth? She's my family. In case you haven't gotten the memo, these people mean a hell of a lot more to me than you do. They come first. Before a cure. Before a reset. Before any of it. 'Cause it ain't worth shit if these people, my people, don't make it. We're hurtin', and we just needed some time…" He looked over as Maggie disappeared down another aisle with Tara. "Some more than others…"

Glenn paused as he bagged the last of the flares and ammunition he found hidden behind one of the display walls. He stopped beside an open duffle bag in the middle of the aisle. Kneeling down, he pushed it open and saw cans of spray paint, rolls of gaffing tape and boxes of zip lock bags.

"What're you doin'?" Daryl asked, standing there with his crossbow slung over his back.

Glenn looked up. "Is this yours?" he asked.

Daryl shrugged and moved over, dropping a few more cans of spray paint into the bag before picking it up, standing with Glenn.

"… Why are you taking all that stuff?" Glenn asked.

He slung the bag over his shoulder and nodded. "See you out there," he said, simply, turning and walking away, leaving a confused Glenn behind. As he approached the front of the store, he swung around to where Rick and Abraham were. Shifting the duffle around, he pulled all of the maps from their holders on the counter, shoving them into the bag.

"Uh, Daryl, I think we only need one," Rick said.

"Nah, we need 'em all," Daryl said, zipping up the duffle and then turning and stepping out through the broken glass door.

"Should we be worried about that?" Abe asked, watching Daryl go.

"He'll be fine."

"He thinks the girl is still out there. Still alive," Abe said. "Your boy is losin' it, Sheriff. You know and I know it."

"I said, he'll be fine," Rick said, defensively.

"Let's say for a moment she is alive. Odds of him finding that girl again are a million to one."

Rick nodded, a bit defiantly. "Yeah… well I wouldn't bet against Daryl."

"You say that, but-"

Rick squared his body up with Abe's, narrowing his eyes as though his gaze threatened to devour the solider's very soul. "We're gonna let Daryl do what Daryl does. Discussion over," he said, grabbing the map and pulling it off the counter, roughly folding it as he walked out through the door after the rest of his people. Reluctantly, Abraham followed; the last man out, again.

**_…NOW…_**

"She's gone, Daryl," Carol said as they walked through the quiet streets of Alexandria.

"Like Merle was gone? Andrea?" Daryl said, looking over at Carol. "She's gone, she ain't dead."

"I know you want to believe that, but… she might be," Carol said. "The body we found-"

"Wasn't her." Daryl looked forward and shook his head.

"You have to stop goin' out there lookin' for her. Stop checkin' the trail you left in hopes she's somehow made it all this way alone." Carol reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him. "I'm saying this as your friend, because I'm worried about you. You've done everything you can. It's been weeks. It might be time to accept that, maybe the reason you haven't found her… is because she can't be found anymore."

Daryl glanced down at her hand on his arm and then looked her dead in the eyes. "Naw… she's alive."

Carol slowed to a stop. "Why do you still believe that?"

He stopped and turned. "Why don't you?" He slowly walked back up to her, standing toe to toe with her. "You were gone. You came back."

"That was different," she said.

"No… it's not. You're different, and so am I. Look, you made it clear that there are things you don't wanna talk about. Things you don't wanna tell me. It ain't our thing anymore. I get it. Hasn't been our thing since the prison."

She just stared at him silently, until he grew tired of it. He was tired of people having no words, or always saying the wrong words. He squinted his eyes, trying to understand why she adamantly refused to just talk to him. It felt like the only thing she ever did these days was try to convince him that he'd be better off accepting that Beth was dead and to move on, something he couldn't do. Something he wouldn't do. Yet she couldn't just talk to him, like they once did. Too many secrets. Too many walls. He nodded and turned to keep walking.

"Daryl."

He paused, keeping his back to her.

"Are we okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, moving to take another step forward.

"Daryl?"

He sighed and stopped again, turning his body some and looking back at her. "What?"

"You never told me everything… that happened with you and Beth, did you?" she asked.

Daryl just stared at her and then shifted awkwardly and looked down at the ground.

"I think I know where this is all coming from," she said, "but… I just want to understand."

He looked up and stood there staring for what felt like an eternity, and Carol realized it was a request probably best left unspoken.

Every moment felt surreal lately, like a haze… like a nightmare he couldn't wake up from. He tried so hard to remember every detail. In his dreams, they became so clear that he could still smell her hair - like dirt and leaves, sweat… and the smell of peanut butter that seemed to stay on her in that last night at the mortuary. He could hear her laugh and feel her hand in his, so real and tactile that he could wake up and still sense them. The waking hours, he had to focus harder on it, to remember her touch, her voice, her eyes. Every word she spoke, every story she told, every song she sang. It was all burned into his heart. He'd never forget anything about her, but he was afraid he might.

Daryl finally took a step back and shook his head again. "Yeah, that… that ain't our thing either," he said before he turned and stalked off to meet Rick near the armory, to pick up his crossbow and join his brother on rounds.

**_…THEN…_**

The engine of the 4-wheeler cut out as a man dismounted. It was dusk and he needed to get back to the Safe Zone before night fell. He hadn't been along this stretch of road since he'd been tracking Rick's group, but he noticed, now, that there was something different about the scene. There were dead walkers around a broken down car, suggesting someone had recently been there.

As he walked around the vehicle, he peered inside. Cautiously, he reached his hand in through the cracked window, watching the body on the backseat. His heart pounded in his throat as he flicked the lock. Alive, dead or undead? He froze when the lock clicked, feeling like it was so much louder than it should have been. But the figure still didn't move. He retracted his hand and, quietly as he could, opened the door. Her arm fell freely out and he saw the unkempt blonde hair of a young woman. On her hip was a sheathed knife and on the floor, where her other hand dangled down to, was a gun. It looked like it was police issued, but he figured he shouldn't be surprised these days what people wound up with.

He tensed and backed up further as she moved, her fingers tensing, her hips shifting slightly as though she wanted to wake, but couldn't. And then she murmured something, and he drew closer to ensure they were words. Living Human words… and not the inaudible mumbles and groans of a reanimated corpse. She breathed a name… or part of a name.

"Dar… Mag.."

It was enough. He reached in and took the gun away from her, tucking it into the back of his pants. Then he placed a hand on her shoulder and gently shook. "Hey. Wake up. Hello?"

When she didn't respond, he bent down and slid his hands under her arms, pulling her along the back seat and out, her legs falling as her feet dropped to the ground. She was completely dead weight under him. He laid her down in the grass. He checked the car to see if there was anything else and found a worn, tattered backpack. Pulling it out, he set it in the grass beside her and opened it. Inside, it was stuffed with mostly large, crumpled maps.

Unsure what it all meant, he decided it must mean something to her to keep them all, so he slipped it onto his back and then moved to scoop her up in his arms. He carried the unconscious blonde girl around the car, towards the 4-wheeler.

"I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm going to take you somewhere safe," he assured her. "You're going to be okay, now."

As he got on and braced her against him, between his arms, he started up the engine again and rode off. Stars were just beginning to dapple the evening sky, but they'd make it back in time. As he pulled away from the car in which he'd found her, in blue spray paint across the hood were the words:

_**...**_

_**Beth**_

_**Follow Me**_

_**Daryl**_

_**...**_

**_…NOW…_**

The last time Beth Greene woke up in a new place with strangers, it had been the beginning of the worst ordeal of her life, second only to losing her father. Now, it was happening all over again. Promises of being safe, being rescued. She'd come to suspect it all.

"Shouldn't she be awake by now?" a man asked.

"You brought her in unconscious last night, Aaron. She was severely dehydrated, probably fatigued," a woman said, her voice droning in and out of Beth's consciousness. "She looks like she's been through something," she said, noting the scar on Beth's cheek and another, mostly faded, above her eyebrow, as well as the particularly worn and battered cast on her arm. It appeared as though she'd torn away at it around her hand over time, likely because it kept getting in the way. "Where'd you find her?

"She was in the back of a car on the side of the road. Looked like she just looking for a safe place to sleep."

"You took a big risk," she said. "What if those things had been around? What if she was part of some-"

"I know how to do my job, Denise," Aaron said. "I scouted around the area. She's alone."

"Well, I've given her all of the I.V. fluids we have. After this bag is gone, that's it. She slept through the night, so… hopefully she'll wake up soon," Denise said.

"Does she need more fluids?"

"It couldn't hurt," Denise said, lightly pinching the skin on the back of Beth's hand, and although the elasticity had returned to it, showing that she was, indeed, hydrating nicely, she was certain that she could use more than they had to give. "You may need to send someone out on a run to the clinic and see if they can find any more."

"The clinic is all wiped out. Maybe they could try the hospital-"

Beth's heart jumped and that word brought her around instantly. She opened her eyes and realized she was in a room with white walls, bright lights, and people she didn't know. She rolled off the cot and reached for the closest instrument, suture scissors - a familiar weapon for her.

"Whoa!" Aaron jumped back and Denise, too, put distance between herself and Beth.

"Who are you?!" Beth asked.

"You can put that down," Aaron said in a soothing voice. "We're not going to hurt you."

"Stay back!" Beth warned, jabbing at the air between them with the points of the scissors, her eyes scanning the room for a better weapon.

"My name is Aaron. I found you unconscious by the road-"

"I've heard that before," Beth said.

"I brought you here to help you," he said.

"You'd have died if he didn't," Denise added.

"Why don't you put down the scissors and we just… talk?" Aaron asked, his hands raised in the air in front of him.

"I'd rather hang onto them," Beth said.

Aaron simply nodded.

"I have to go. I have to get back to the road. To the car," she said. "You have to let me go."

"No one's keeping you here," Aaron said, "but… that car was dead. There was nothing there to go back to."

"My things. Where are my things?" she asked.

"Your weapons were taken to-"

"The maps! Where are the maps!?" she asked, frantically.

"We have them. They're in your bag," Aaron said. "They were leading you this way. Was someone leaving them for you? Is that it?"

* * *

Maggie greeted Daryl when he returned from his morning excursion to the closest signs he'd distributed around the area for Beth. Every morning she hoped he'd come back with some word of her, some good news, and every morning it wound up just turning into a conversation about having faith that tomorrow would be the day. She couldn't help but know that she was just fooling herself, but everyone else believed that Beth was dead, and it didn't feel right letting Daryl carry that flicker of hope all on his own.

"I'll check further tomorrow," Daryl said. He looked at her. "I'm gonna find her, Maggie."

She nodded. "I need you to be honest with me, Daryl. What are the odds? Really?"

He was quiet for a moment and then he glanced at her, "They're okay."

"Okay isn't great."

"No," he said, looking ahead again and fixing his crossbow on his back. "But it's somethin', an' somethin's better than nothin'."

Maggie smiled a bit. "You know, when you talk like that… it almost feels like she's here," she said.

Daryl stopped and turned to look at her, nodding a bit. He wished he knew more to say to her, but if anyone could understand what they were feeling, it was probably each other. There really wasn't a need for words. "Come on… let's go find Rick and Glenn," he said, cocking his head towards the heart of town.

* * *

Beth looked at Aaron warily. The standoff had been going for minutes, but it felt like an eternity. She didn't know what to think and she felt like every answer they gave only brought up more questions. She narrowed her eyes, brandishing the scissors protectively in front of her again.

"_**Where am I?**_" she asked.

"Somewhere safe," Aaron assured her.

Beth shook her head, "There's no such thing anymore."

There was a tense moment between the three of them, where they all expected someone to make a move, but none were sure who it would be. Then Beth grabbed the cot and shoved it into Aaron and Denise, causing them to stumble back. With the way clear, Beth bolted for the door. She burst out into the sunlight, which glistened off the scissors in her hand as she shielded her eyes. She noticed the startled people who had stopped to acknowledge the panicked girl.

Beth was confused and disoriented, looking around. So many people. So many strangers. All looking at her, all acting as though they were the ones who should be afraid of her instead of the other way around. Each new face appearing around her, as the commotion brought more and more onlookers, simply left her more and more unnerved. She turned quickly and held out the scissors defensively as Aaron and Denise came out of the clinic behind her.

"STAY BACK!" she shouted.

"It's okay. It's okay," Aaron tried to calm her, but she looked like a caged animal. She looked threatened and frightened, and she was clearly aware that she was woefully outnumbered.

Beth turned and looked all around her. It was almost dizzying, like being on a carousel. But then, her eyes caught a face in the distance. A familiar face beyond a sea of strangers. Oddly foreign, all clean-shaven and hair more finely coifed. But she knew that face, and he was so far away, but he was looking right at her. It was Rick. Then another familiar face, and another. Maggie. Glenn.

All at once her body went numb, because there he was, the person who had left her those signs. The person who had left her the maps. Who had painted the words that kept her going: follow me. The one person she knew in her heart hadn't given up on her. And she did. She followed Daryl all the way there. She found him.

She tried to say his name, but even as her lips moved, her voice evaded her. Losing all strength in her fingers, the scissors clamored to the crumbling asphalt beneath her feet.

When Daryl saw her standing there, he felt the back of his neck start to tingle, pins and needles. The sensation crept into his limps and down his spine. In a split second, a million thoughts rushed through his head. He hadn't asked God for anything, but right now he made one prayer - simple - just let her be real.

None of them were sure if they could trust their own eyes. Some of them had seen people before, people who weren't really there. People who were dead.

"Beth?" Daryl murmured. "Beth!"

Rick could see Daryl already moving, trying to rush past him. He grabbed onto Daryl's arm. "Daryl, wait!"

"No!" Daryl shouted as he tore himself free from Rick's fingertips and headed towards Beth.

The look on his face, at first, appeared as though he was terrified that he might be running to a ghost that only he could see. But with each step, as people moved aside to open the way for him, the urgency in him grew as he dropped his crossbow and began to run.

Beth's legs felt numb, even as they moved her quickly towards him. Finally, she heard a voice yelling his name, and she realized it was hers. "DARYL!"

His breathing was panicked, almost a sob. This was real. She was real. She had to be. He was running towards her and, unlike all the times before, she was getter closer and closer. She was finally within reach. This time, he would catch her. His legs couldn't carry him fast enough. "BETH!"

Before he knew it, Daryl was meeting her in the middle of the road, their bodies crashing together like waves on the shore, their arms grasping onto each other as though clinging to life itself. His arms promptly pulled her into him as the force of their bodies colliding caused them to stumble and slowly they both collapsed down to their knees. Daryl brought one hand up to tangle his fingers securely in her hair. He pressed his nose and mouth against the side of her head, inhaling deeply her scent as she buried her face in his shoulder. She smelled like the road and sweat and dust, and he swore that nothing and no one ever smelled as sweet, because he wasn't dreaming it this time.

Rick looked on as Maggie tearfully clung to Glenn. Beth was alive. She wasn't a walker. She wasn't some figment of his imagination. She'd found them, and it was clear from how she and Daryl clung to each other that they'd both been waiting for this moment.

So many questions rushed through Daryl's head. Was she okay? Where had she been? What had she been through? It didn't matter in this moment, though, because she was here. She was alive. She was in his arms.

"Beth.." he choked out, barely able to process the reality of this moment. Worried, terrified, it was another cruel dream and he'd wake up and Joe would be there or Len or Gareth, maybe he'd be all alone, maybe he'd be with Rick and Carl and Michonne. But he was scared he'd pull away and Beth would be gone again.

Everything fell open like a floodgate inside of her as the hot tears broke over the dam of her lashes and spilled down her cheeks, pooling on the shoulder of his vest and bleeding into the collar of his shirt. She clutched the stitched wings on his vest so tightly that her fingers turned white. Every emotion she'd held in check, just to stay strong, melted away the moment he held her.

"I knew it," he said. "I knew you were alive."

"I knew you were, too.." she said, pressing her head against his.

He opened his eyes and turned his head enough to look at her. "You found us…"

"I found _**you**_," she choked out. "I saw your signs. I followed you.."

She could feel him trembling and felt his face buried against the side of her slender neck once more.

Maggie stood back, still clinging to Glenn and crying against his chest, resting her head there as she looked at Beth and Daryl. She knew as well as the others to give them a moment. She would have her's with Beth soon enough. All that mattered was that she was alive. Daryl never stopped believing. Not once.

Slowly, Daryl drew back just enough to cup Beth's head between his hands, even as she still clung to him. As he looked at her, she could see the tears streaking down his face and filling his eyes. These tears were for her, and her alone.

His thumb brushed over the scar on her cheek as he looked her over. "Beth…"

She shook her head quickly and threw herself against him again, hugging him tighter and closing her eyes. "No… no, not yet," she choked out. "Don't let go…" she whispered, frantically. "Not yet.."

"I won't… I won't.." he murmured weakly, holding her tighter to him. "I've got you, Beth," he whispered, his mouth pressed against her ear, his eyes closed tightly, even though it didn't stop the tears. He had her back, finally, and he wouldn't let her go again. "I've got you."


	2. Chapter 2

Follow Me, Beth  
Chapter 2

* * *

**_… Then…_**

Behind her was the city skyline of Atlanta, the same one Rick once rode towards on horseback years ago, on this same stretch of highway. She wasn't sure where she was headed, but she knew nothing was left back there. What other choice did she have? The only way, now, was ahead.

The car rolled to a stop on the highway. Beth leaned forwards against the steering wheel, squinting to see through the filthy windshield. She turned the ignition off and pushed open the driver's side door, stepping out and looking at the large sign going North. She fixed the stolen police issued pistol in the back of her jeans and walked ahead of the black car, a white cross still painted on its rear window and bullet holes dimpling the trunk.

She'd spent the last couple of days hiding out, lying low, staying under the radar just in case people were looking for her. She'd hidden the car blocks away from where she made her temporary camp in the storm cellar of a burned out house, knowing that eventually she would come back for it. She spent her time gathering her wits, scavenging for supplies. Jeans, a tshirt and a ratty blue hoodie. A backpack and a few cans of tuna and spam. A kitchen knife and other odds and ends. She had a gun from one of the cops at the hospital, but only two bullets and ammunition was impossible to come by out here, she soon realized. She'd use them only when necessary, and resolved that no matter how bad it got out there, neither bullet was for her. She wasn't ever going back to that mind fame. She'd come too far to even imagine giving up.

If asked how she'd managed to escape, let alone with the same car that she'd started this horrible nightmare in, she couldn't begin to explain. All that mattered was that she was out and, now, she knew where to go. As her blood-spattered sneakers scuffed against the asphalt, coming to a stop, Beth looked up. She felt a laugh bubble up into her chest as she smiled. It was brief and quiet, but it was what hope sounded like in that moment, for she'd found the first sign.

"Daryl…"

She noticed the large arrow pointing towards one of the broken down cars on the highway, and to the hood was taped a map inside of a plastic bag. She tore it free and opened it. She followed the marked route with her finger until she reached where it was circled. Washington D.C..

**_…Now…_**

For those achingly fleeting moments, Daryl and Beth felt like the only two people in the world. There was a instant when Daryl wondered — even as his fingers curled into her tawny hair and he could feel the warmth of her skin against his cheek, the weight of her arms clutching to his body — was this just another extremely vivid, utterly cruel dream? But his knees were beginning to pulse with discomfort from how they'd collapsed down to the ground and rocked against the asphalt with Beth in his arms, as though — if she was a dream — he could sway her out of his mind and into existence.

Rick had dispersed most of the group that had been watching. Although Aaron was responsible for maintaining the new-comers, Rick wasn't having any interruptions. He handed the discarded surgical scissors back to Aaron and gestured for him and Denise to go about their business.

"She's our family. We've got her," he said.

Aaron took the scissors. "Monroe's going to want to speak to her," he said.

Rick nodded, "I know. He'll get his chance… after we get ours, and not today."

Aaron nodded before leading Denise back into the infirmary.

Rick turned to look at the pair who were silently holding onto each other. It was as though no words needed to be spoken and all they desired was to feel the reality of one another, solidly tucked safely into their arms.

Daryl drew back and clutched Beth's head gently between his hands, his forehead pressed against her's. Her hands came up and curled against the back of his neck lightly before lightly clutching his hair. She opened her eyes, red and glassy, seeing his still closed tightly, a sheen of tears still on his face, his chin tense and his lips firmly pressed, as though he was trying desperately not to bawl like a baby. Beth smiled, even as a tear slipped down her cheek. She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly and letting her head drop against his shoulder.

"You bathed," she said, muffled against his shoulder.

His immediate response was a laugh that came out like a snort, not expecting that, of all things. "Yeah.. You need to."

She let out a tremulous, soft little chuckle before drawing in a sharp breath, holding it to keep from sobbing. "… I missed you…"

He turned his head to press his mouth against her ear once more. He nodded, struggling for his voice. "God, I missed you…"

"Daryl.. I—"

"Beth," Rick interrupted.

She lifted her head from Daryl's shoulder and looked up at Rick, then followed the line of his arm down to his offered hand, palm up. Daryl's grip seemed to slacked, reluctantly, as Beth put her hand into Rick's and he drew her effortlessly up onto her feet again before hugging her to him.

Daryl took the moment to hang his head and brush away the tears from his face, to try to collect his composure in some small measure. He slowly got himself back onto his feet, his heart in his throat. Daryl could feel her warmth still clinging to his body and yet he immediately felt her absence, despite the fact she was right there.

He watched as Rick rocked left to right with Beth locked inside his arms, kissing the side of her head with all of the affection of a brother. It was painfully clear, now, that Daryl hadn't been the only one whose heart broke at the idea of leaving her behind in Georgia, at getting so close to having her back, only to lose her all over again.

Beth pulled back from Rick and he looked at her. "You made it."

She nodded.

"I'm glad you're back." He smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into him again as he hugged her.

"Me too," Beth whispered as she leaned into Rick's chest, looking over at Maggie when she saw Rick gesture to her big sister and brother-in-law.

Rick drew back from the blonde, his hand on her back guiding her around to face her sister.

"Beth?" Maggie's voice was soft and strained, as she walked up to her sister and hugged her. She let out a sob. She was real, she could hug her. A huge part of her thought that this day would never happen. "I thought you were dead," she sobbed.

"I know…" Beth whispered, closing her eyes as she hugged Maggie a little tighter. "It's okay."

"I'm so sorry—"

"It's okay," Beth repeated, resting her chin on Maggie's shoulder as she held to her like her strong big sister might crumble if she didn't. For some reason, Lori's words that day so long ago came flooding back. You have to be strong for them. This moment was everything for Beth. She had survived. She'd found them. She was with Daryl and Maggie and Rick and Glenn, all of them, again. But she knew Maggie was falling apart, because she'd given up on her, she'd left her. Beth couldn't blame her, even if she wanted to — and she didn't want to.

Beth looked over at Glenn, who was smiling, tears running down his own cheeks. She smiled at him and pried a hand off Maggie's back to wave him over.

Glenn walked up and wrapped his arms around both Greene girls, kissing the top of Beth's head before kissing the side of Maggie's. In this moment, he couldn't help but let his mind drift to Hershel. It felt like a miracle, and he was sure that old man had a hand in it somehow, wherever he was. This was the miracle that proved to Glenn that miracles exist.

"How about we get you settled?" Rick asked.

"Yeah," Maggie said, pulling back and looking at her sister. "You'll stay with all of us. Glenn and I will show you." She slid her hand into Beth's and held tightly, starting to lead her off.

"Wait." Beth slowed and turned, looking back. "Daryl."

He lifted his head and looked over at her as she, Maggie and Glenn all stopped to look back at him. That was her sister and Daryl had been quiet and stood off on his own, not wanting to interrupt their reunion, even if every shred of his being wanted to keep her in his sights, keep her close. Then he noticed Beth's free hand coming up, reaching out to him. He hesitated and looked around, oddly aware of everyone looking at him as if they knew now, for sure, why he never gave up on her, why he left those signs, why he hugged her as though she'd vanish if he let her go.

"Naw.. You… you and Maggie—"

"Daryl," Maggie said, cutting him off. She smiled warmly and brushed her palm against her cheek to dry it some more, then casually cocked her head towards Beth. "Come on."

Daryl looked at Rick, who just nodded in a 'well, go on' manner.

"I gotta go speak with Douglas," Rick said to Daryl. "You make sure she gets settled, gets everythin' she needs."

Daryl nodded. "Alright, man."

He walked over to the group and they all headed off for the housing district of Alexandria. As they walked, he was lost in a frenzy of thoughts, but then he felt the back of Beth's hand brush against his and he looked down. He saw her slide her fingers in between his and he curled his own inward, tightening the grip.

He looked at her. Seeing her smiling up at him with those vibrant blue eyes — different and yet still so strong and full of hope — he could feel it. That spark… growing, building… like someone poured ignition fluid on a tiny flame. He realized that it'd always been there, burning beneath the surface…for her. Every moment, every day, every breath, every heartbeat. That warmth that he'd been getting closer and closer to, that had been taken from him so abruptly, just came rushing back, full tilt.

It was Beth… It was always Beth.


	3. Chapter 3

Follow Me, Beth  
Chapter 3

* * *

**_…Then…_**

"Daryl!"

He turned when he heard Carol call his name. He ran over to her, noticing the blood on her clothes. "Walkers?"

She nodded.

"You find her?"

Carol just seemed to stand there, unresponsive for a moment, studying him with some hesitance in her eyes. Finally, she nodded again, a little less zealously.

"What?" he asked, able to see it. Something wasn't right. "What is it?"

She took a breath and reached behind her, pulling something free from her pocket. She held out the knife to him and Daryl just stood there, feeling like his lungs were going to explode and his heart would shatter into such tiny pieces that it'd be completely irreparable.

"That's… That's Beth's knife," he said, taking a step back, struggling to find the breath to say those haunting words. "Where?"

"You don't want to see," she said.

Daryl's eyes narrowed as he lifted his head and looked at her, his jaw set squarely, teeth clenched. "_**Where?**_"

Carol turned and reluctantly gestured. "Last room… on the right," she said. "But, Daryl, you shouldn't—" Before she could stop him, he was already on the move, running past her and down the dark hall.

A walker stumbled out from one of the boiler rooms under the hospital and Daryl threw it aside, snapping its neck like it was the delicate stem of a wine glass. Nothing stood between him and getting to that room. When he reached the doorway, he stopped and collapsed against the doorframe. His features contorted into a mix of pain and despair. "…No… No."

The floor was completely red, blood everywhere. Walkers all twisted up in a heap around a girl's body. Carol had put them all down, including the young woman in the middle… what was left of her. She was torn apart, completely unrecognizable. Even her blond hair was impossible to make out, it was so saturated with the sanguine hues.

"I'm so sorry, Daryl…" Carol said as she stepped up behind him, watching him lean forwards where he stood, his breathing wheezing slightly as he appeared to be on the verge of hyperventilating. She'd never seen him like this before, and it left her shaken in a way she didn't realize she could feel anymore. She reached out to touch his arm. "Come on… we can't stay."

He tore himself free, throwing his arm back and making her step away. He moved into the room and dropped to his knees in the pool of blood, looking over the body, feeling utterly sick… not just from the sight of it, imagining this was Beth… but his heart, the way it hurt — it was a pain he'd never felt before — and it was nauseating. He finally let out a sob and hung his head, pressing his hands into the blood around his knees, hanging over the body.

"Daryl…" Carol tried again, but he didn't respond. She could hear moans down the hall, gunfire outside. It was clear that Rick and the others were still facing opposition from the people here. "Daryl!"

"Just go," he said.

"No. Not without—"

"I'm not… gonna… not gonna leave her!" he growled, anger fizzling up to the surface before he felt himself sink back into inconsolable anguish. "Go, Carol."

Carol just stared at him for a moment before she nodded and walked away. He listened to her go, her footfalls hurrying into the distance, echoes of her steps growing fainter and fainter. It felt like an eternity of sitting there, mourning Beth, before he heard someone enter the room with him. He opened his eyes and looked up to see Carol standing there with a blue sheet.

"What're you doin'?" he asked weakly.

"We're taking her with us. We're going to get out of here. We're going to bury her like she deserves. You deserve to get to say goodbye to her the right way. So you going to help me or just sit there?" she asked, opening the sheet and laying it over the body.

Daryl looked down and watched it flutter over the bloody mess, the blue quickly being inundated by the red stains spreading through the fabric. He moved to tuck her arms under the sheet when he paused.

"Stop," he said as Carol moved to help lift the body.

"What?"

"Just wait," he said, picking up the girl's left hand and pulling his red handkerchief out of his back pocket, his breathing rapid and shallow, as though he felt like he was chasing her all over again. He wiped the blood away from her wrist.

"Daryl—"

"It's not her," he said, nearly choking on a laugh of relief.

Carol, however, couldn't shake the feeling that he was in denial. Seeing how broken Beth's death had made him, it made sense that he wouldn't want to believe it. "Daryl, it's Beth. It's Beth and she's dead."

"You ain't listenin'," he said, pointedly, as he looked at her and held up the girls hand. "No scar. She slit her wrist. She had a scar."

Carol's eyes widened as her own heart fluttered. She looked at Daryl as he leaned in, his eyes wild with renewed hope.

"It's not Beth," he said. "She's alive."

**_…Now…_**

Beth learned quickly that the group had been crammed into three houses. Maggie, Glenn, Rick, Carl, Judith, Michonne and Daryl were all under a single roof and she couldn't have been happier. She would sleep knowing the people who meant the most in this world to her were all around her. Despite the fact that Glenn offered to take the downstairs sofa and let Beth sleep in the bedroom with Maggie, she refused in favor of taking the couch herself.

When Maggie said goodnight and headed upstairs, Beth went about finishing making herself a bed. Daryl came out from his room and into the living room. He watched her quietly from the doorway for a few moments, until he heard her sigh and drop herself down onto the couch.

"I get it," he said, causing her to turn and look back at him.

"Oh, Daryl… I didn't know you were there."

"Sorry, didn't mean to surprise you," he said, holding up a pillow. "Thought you could use one of these," he said, bringing it over and handing it to her.

She smiled. "Thanks." Beth placed the pillow against the armrest and then looked up at him. "What did you mean?" she asked.

"Hmm?"

"You said, 'I get it,'" she said. "What did you mean?"

He shrugged a bit. "We all went through it. Sleepin' out here, in the living room. If there's trouble, you have ten ways out in a hurry. You're not in a room, trapped or cornered. I get it."

Beth looked down and nodded a bit. "I can't… I can't help it."

He shook his head and moved to sit down in the chair across from her. "You don't have to. Give yourself time, Beth. You'll adapt. You just got here."

She nodded, but he could see that something was on her mind. Something bothered her.

"You okay?" he asked.

Beth looked at him and, after a moment, she licked her lips and swallowed to wet her throat. "I'm scared, Daryl."

"Of what?"

"Of this place," she said, looking around the room and back at him. "That they'll… be something less than I hope they'll be."

"I know. We've been there," he said, recalling the disappointment that Terminus had turned out to be, and that was grave understatement. "But this place… these people.. They're good people. The ones that you always believed were still out there."

She smiled weakly and nodded, glancing over at him again. "You still believe that?"

"Don't you?" he asked.

"Maybe."

He cleared his throat and got up, moving to sit down beside her on the couch. "Beth… if it was dangerous, I wouldn't let you stay here. I'd never put you in harm's way… ever. I'd keep you as far from it as I could."

Beth looked at him and studied the intensity and sincerity of his eyes. "You're scared, too, then?"

Daryl studied her for quiet a while in silence before nodding and looking away. "Of some things. Yeah…" he said. He couldn't say what he really meant. His biggest fear, now that she was back, seemed to only come from the thought of losing her again.

"At least I'm not alone in that, then," she noted with a smile.

"None of us are," he said.

She nodded and looked around, sighing a bit to herself. She looked back at him, leaning in and bumping shoulders with the man. "We should probably get some sleep, huh?"

"Yeah." He moved to stand up, walking around the sofa and pausing behind it. "I'll be just down the hall… if you need anythin'."

Beth nodded and smiled.

"I'm glad you're back," he said, his head cocking a bit to one side, like a little boy who was trying to discretely convey the magnitude of his adoration. He turned out the lights and crept around the corner to his room.

Beth found herself in a dark, open room with only the dim light pouring through the closed curtains of the windows to see by. Immediately, her anxiety rose. Her pulse races, her heart began to pound. She felt instantly edgy, nervous… afraid. She looked towards the windows, swearing she could see shadows moving on the other side of the drapes. Slowly, she rose to her feet and moved, step by step, balancing silently on the balls of her bare feet, making her way to the edge of the window.

Cautiously she drew back the edge of the curtain, just a sliver, peeking outside. It was pitch black, except for the occasional floodlight here and there, shining down on the streets from the roofs of some of the houses. There was nothing moving out there, and yet she couldn't shake this sense being watched.

"What're you doin?" Daryl asked, making her jump.

She clutched the pale pink t-shirt she was wearing for bed, swearing her heart was now permanently lodged in her throat. "Daryl… you scared me."

"Yeah, I can see that," he said. "Everything okay?"

Beth turned and looked at the closed drapes, then shook her head. She gestured to them, still catching her breath from the startle. "I thought… I don't know why, but I thought someone was out there."

"Ain't no one out there, Beth," he assured her. "But… do you want me to go take a look?"

"No," she said. "No, you're right. It's nothin'."

He just watched her in the dark, trying to gauge what she was feeling right now. It seemed to come easier, the more open and honest he was with himself about his own feelings. "You sure you're okay out here alone?"

Beth wavered slightly and folded her arms, hugging herself a bit. "… I don't know."

"What would make you feel safe?" he asked.

Her throat felt parched when she tried to tell him. She swallowed to wet it, but it did little good. "… You."

Daryl nodded, "Alright." If Beth needed him, then she had him. He walked over to the sofa, drawing nearer to her, and she could finally see what he was holding in his hands. A blanket and another pillow, which he laid out on the floor just beside the couch.

Beth walked over as he was getting his bed ready. "You… you were already coming out to stay with me…" she said, taken aback for a moment.

"Of course," he said, looking up at her. "Think I'm letting' you out of my sights again? Not even in my sleep. Come on. Get up on this couch so I can lay down," he said.

She smiled and moved past him, dropping down onto the sofa and getting comfy. She shifted to lay on the side, facing him, watching him get situated on the floor. "You gonna be okay down there?"

"This? This is one of the comfier places I've slept," Daryl said with a smirk. "Get some sleep. I'll be right here."

Beth hugged the pillow under her head a bit more, nestling her cheek against it. "Good night, Daryl…"

"Night, Beth."

It was around 2 AM when Maggie woke, unable to settle knowing that Beth was spending her first night in a new place, downstairs, alone… Despite Glenn's unconscious efforts to keep his wife in bed, she pulled free and rolled over the edge, finding her footing. She snuck down the hall and to the stairs, turning on her small flashlight as she came down to check on Beth.

She only made it halfway down the staircase when she saw them. Beth was sound asleep on the sofa with Daryl on the floor right beside her. What caught her the most, though, was that, by the dim light of her flashlight, Maggie could see that their hands were clasped, fingers intertwined, even as they slept.

Slowly, she retreated back upstairs and to her room. Setting the flashlight aside, she was still trying to make sense of what she'd just happened upon. Innocent as it was, it seemed to be a glaringly large insight into just how close Beth and Daryl had gotten in their time together. There were feelings there that seemed to emerge in the cover of night.

"She okay?" Glenn asked, groggily, aware that Maggie was back in the room. He knew her well enough to know where she'd been, checking on Beth.

Maggie snapped out of her thoughts and smiled, moving to crawl back into bed with him and under the covers. "Mmmhmm. She's fine. She's asleep."

"I half thought you would've stayed down there with her," Glenn said.

"Yeah, I was goin' to, but…"

"But what?" he asked.

"Daryl's with her…," she said, almost laughing as the words tumbled out of her mouth. "She… she needs someone and he's… he's there. He's with her," she said, looking at Glenn as he ran his fingers through her hair. "I know she's safe if he's there."

Glenn moved closer. "You good with all that?"

"I think I am," she said with a smile. "He never gave up on her, Glenn. You and I… we don't wanna admit it, but… we did."

"Maggie…"

"No, I'm not beating myself up or anythin', Glenn. She said it was okay… I know it's okay," she said, bringing a hand up to cup his cheek. "What I meant was… he never stopped lookin'. Even when there was nothin' to go on, he never gave up hope. That's… when has that ever been like Daryl?"

Glenn just shook his head a bit, unsure how to answer that.

"That's the kind of love she deserves," Maggie said. "And I'll always be good with that."

Glenn smiled and nodded. "So she's with Daryl."

"She's with Daryl." Maggie smiled.

He moved in and kissing Maggie softly. "Then how about we get some sleep?"

"Okay…" Maggie agreed, snuggling in against Glenn and closing her eyes.

"She went back up," Beth whispered, revealing she hadn't been asleep at all.

"I know," Daryl said, threading his fingers between her delicate, slender ones over and over again. It was almost in a mindless, hypnotic manner. He was hardly aware he was doing it. It was just nice to feel that she was really here. He was still struggling, now and then, especially while lying here in the dark, to believe this was real.

Maybe it was because he was half-asleep. Maybe it was all of the emotions from the day just leaving him raw and vulnerable. Maybe it was the fact that with Beth he could be honest and feel safe doing it. Whatever it was, he hoped that he wouldn't regret the words he was about to say.

"I don't want to miss you again…" he said.

She shifted on the sofa and rested her head on the pillow as she looked down at him, furrowing her brow curiously. "You don't have to."

Daryl turned on his side, propping himself up on his arm, looking up at her. "…What happened, Beth? Out there? At the hospital?" He worried that maybe, whatever she went through, she'd stop talking to him. Close herself off, like Carol had. He couldn't stand that. He'd come to depend on her to be open with him. To have that special trust that he only had with her.

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter anymore—"

"I _**does **_matter." He sat up more and closed his hand around hers. "_**You **_matter. They hurt you—"

"Yeah, they did," she said, her voice a bit steely at being forced to reflect on that. "They hurt me, Daryl…" She took another breath and let it out slowly, closing her eyes as she let the tension melt away again. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "_**They didn't break me.**_"

He stared at her in the darkness for what felt like an eternity before he nodded. "You survived."

"I did."

"…You made it," he whispered.

She smiled and moved around to hug him, half-falling off the couch to do so. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"I know the feeling," he said quietly. He closed his eyes and sighed, breathing in the smell of shampoo and soap that had replaced the stench of road-weary traveler that she'd previously been cloaked in. In a weird sort of way, he missed that scent. Everything would be different now, different from being alone in the woods with Beth, but if they were together again, at least he knew things would still be good.

"One day.. I'll tell you everything," she said, honestly. "But not yet."

"Alright," Daryl said. She needed time. He knew that. The promise was enough for him. She'd talk when she was ready. He'd respect that. "You really should get some sleep."

"I don't want to," she whispered, still holding on.

"You're exhausted… you need it," he said.

"I don't want to let go," she admitted. "What if this isn't real?"

Daryl paused. It appeared she shared his fear. He slowly reached up, taking her arms and guiding her back from him, supporting her so she wouldn't tumble completely off the sofa. Whatever loosened his tongue tonight seemed to embolden him, even if he was terrified at the same time. He kissed her cheek. Brief, quick, timid.

She felt the light grazing of his whiskers against her skin, his lips thinly pressed in an awkwardly chaste manner, as though this was his first time making such a gesture. She drew back and looked at him, bright blue eyes searching in the darkness.

"It's real…" he assured her, clearing his throat. He promptly let go of her, sitting back on the floor. He felt like he was awaiting the first bullet of a firing squad.

A heated blush flooded her cheeks. She knew the only reason he could do that was because of the dark. She figured it gave him courage to be half in shadow, unaware that a lot of it simply came from not wanting to waste his second chance to take a leap of faith with the only woman who ever gave him a flutter. She could feel his hands tense around her arms and she knew he'd made himself just as nervous from that kiss as he'd made her.

"Go back to sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up," he said.

She nodded and smiled again, "Okay." She laid back down on her stomach and hugged the pillow under her head. Daryl gave the blanket that was over her a small tug, bringing it up higher before he laid back down on the floor. He looked up at the ceiling and draped his arm across his forehead. His heart was racing. He couldn't believe what just happened. He'd kissed her — granted, it'd only been on the cheek — but he'd never done that before… not that. She didn't spurn him or question him or recoil from it. In a way, that made him even more nervous, but… incredibly happy.

He felt her hand bat against his elbow and shifted a bit to look at her wiggling fingers in the dark. He smirked to himself, the back of his neck tingling a bit at the thought that she wanted to be touching. Daryl moved his arm down and intertwined his fingers with hers once more, letting her know he was there and he wasn't going anywhere.

**_…Then…_**

The gunfire had died out as Daryl and Carol emerged from the hospital. Rick and the others rushed to greet them outside, only to be struck by the sight of the bloody, sheet-wrapped body in Daryl's arms.

Rick holstered his gun and brought his hands up, snaking his fingers into his hair in disbelief as his own face reddened and contorted with the threat of tears. "No."

Maggie was frozen in her place as she looked at the sheet, her mouth agape in a horrified expression. "Beth?" She looked at Daryl, needing confirmation for the fears already running rampant through her.

He looked her straight in the eyes and shook his head. "No."

Maggie practically collapsed where she stood, Glenn grabbing her arm to keep her standing. "Oh God… how do you know?" she said. "How?"

"I just do," Daryl said. "It's not Beth. She's not here, but she's alive."

"Okay, but… Daryl… _**how **_do you know?" Glenn asked.

"Because I saw her," Carol said. "I talked to her. She was close to getting out. Beth survived this long in this place. If Daryl says it's not her, then it's not her. She got out."

Daryl looked at Carol, gratefully, then nodded.

"Then, who's that?" Rick asked, gesturing to the body.

"Someone who didn't get out," Daryl said, looking down at the sheet. "We're gonna bury her, because it could've been Beth. 'Cause maybe she meant somethin' to someone, the way Beth does to us," he said.

"If she's out there, alone, we don't have time," Sasha said.

"We make time," Daryl said. "It's what we do." He looked over at Rick, who nodded. "It's who we still are," he added, looking over at Glenn, who clearly felt the echo of his own words and nodded.

"Alright. We'll bury her," Glenn said. "Then we'll look for Beth."

Maggie didn't seem as enthused as may have been expected, mostly because it was clear she was scared to get her hopes up. She couldn't shake this feeling that maybe, just maybe, Daryl was holding Beth right now. That she was dead. She was afraid to believe he was right… that this wasn't Beth.

"No. We don't know where she's goin'. We don't know the first place to start lookin'. We don't know if she's alive," Abraham said. "We came back for all of you, to go as a group to D.C., not to get sidetracked here."

Rick looked down and then around at the others and reluctantly nodded. "We'll look for her as we go. Right now, let's bury this girl and get out of here. We don't know if there are any of them left around," he said.

Daryl knew it was pointless to be angry or to argue. He didn't want to be out here alone and yet he didn't want to leave Beth out here alone either. She'd been alone this whole time and they were so close. She was like sand just racing through his fingers and he couldn't catch her fast enough.

The thought of walking away from her killed him inside, but as long as he could hold onto the hope that she was alive out there, there was a chance. Already he was formulating it in his head. If he couldn't follow her, then he'd make sure she could follow him.


	4. Chapter 4

Follow Me, Beth  
Chapter 4

* * *

"Beth… _**Beth**_."

She felt the weight of a hand pressing down on her shoulder. She grabbed it tightly and tried to push it away, causing pain to jolt through her tender wrist. Beth's eyes snapped open, her heart in her throat as her eyes narrowing enough to focus on the figure hanging over the back of the sofa.

"Beth… it's me," Maggie said, her fingers uncurling from her younger sister's shoulder. She glanced at Beth's white knuckles as she continued to clench Maggie's wrist, as though her life was at stake. "Are you okay?"

When she let go, Maggie recoiled, giving Beth room to sit up and get her bearings.

"Yeah…," Beth said. The truth was that, no, she wasn't okay. Her heart was racing, her wrist was throbbing. She didn't know who she thought was jostling her, but in her mind, it was nothing good. She was awake and yet she felt like she was still waiting to wake up from that nightmare. She clasped her hand around her wrist, feeling how weak and sore it still felt when she moved it wrong. She then paused and looked up at Maggie, noting the concerned slope of her brow and the tension in her mouth.

"I'm fine. I just forgot where I was," Beth said. unsure who she was trying to convince. Maggie or herself.

"That gets easier," Maggie assured her, but not knowing anything Beth had been through all of this time, she didn't know how long it would take for her to feel safe.

"What's that smell?" Beth asked, still rubbing her wrist.

Maggie smiled, "Breakfast. Come on."

Beth sat up and moved the blanket down off of her. She paused again as her feet touched the floor where Daryl had laid last night. She looked around for clues as to where he was, where he'd gone, if he'd be coming back. Maybe it was silly to worry here, in this place, but she hadn't yet shaken the fear that this could all be taken away again at any moment. That, again, she could wind up alone, separated from the people she loves.

On the chair across from her was Daryl's blanket and pillow, neatly stacked. Her mind played over a hundred scenarios over the dumbest things before Maggie's voice broke through again. Her thousand-yard stare having not gone unnoticed.

"You comin'?" Maggie asked, placing down a plate of food and a pitcher of freshly squeeze orange juice on the table.

Beth stood up and walked over to the table, noticing it was set for three. She placed her hands on the back of the wooden chair and, even though she knew she was hungry, she'd woken with such a knot in her stomach, she wasn't sure she could eat. She looked over at Maggie, who was taking her seat. "Uh, where's Daryl?"

"Oh, he had to go check the perimeter with Rick. They do it every morning. Check the walls for weakness and breaches," Maggie said. "He didn't want to wake you. He'll be back soon."

"Hey, look who's up," Glenn said as he came out with a plate in each hand, both containing scrambled eggs and toast, just like the one Maggie has put down in front of Beth. "We worried you might sleep right through breakfast. Sit down. Let's all eat."

Beth shook her head and smiled. "That's sweet, guys, but I think I'm just gonna get dressed and head out. Look around, get my bearings, stop by the clinic."

"You feelin' okay?" Maggie asked.

"Mmhmm. They just wanted me to come back this mornin', after I'd a chance to settle in and calm down," she said.

"Well, just… sit down and eat somethin' first," Maggie urged. She noticed the look on Beth's face. "You gotta eat, Beth."

Beth opened her mouth and took a breath, shaking her head again. This was Maggie, not Dawn. Maggie… not Dawn. But being told to eat actually sickened her. "I'm not hungry."

"_Sit down, Beth._"

"Maggie." Glenn almost chastised her, noting the shift in her tone.

"No," Maggie said, looking at him. "I want her to sit down and have breakfast with her family and talk to us, because until yesterday, we thought she was dead." She looked back to Beth. "Just sit down, eat and talk to us."

Glenn reached under the table and slid his hand over Maggie's knee, giving it a gentle, but firm, squeeze as he glanced at her.

Beth pressed her lips together in a firm line, frowning and shaking her head. "I gotta go to the clinic. My wrist hurts," she said before turning and walking over to the clothes that were left on the back of the couch for her. She picked them up and looked back at Maggie and Glenn before she moved to Daryl's room to change.

"What was that?" Glenn asked in a sharp whisper, leaning in closer to his wife. "What is wrong with you?"

"She's different."

"So are you. So am I," Glenn said. "You don't get to judge her."

"I'm not!" Maggie said, wide-eyed and defensive.

Glenn sat back in his chair a bit and he sighed, shaking his head. "Then what's going on?"

Maggie shifted in her chair enough to face him. "I gave up on her," she said.

He closed her eyes and groaned, "Maggie—"

"Daryl didn't and I did. And she talks to him, but not to me," Maggie said.

"I thought you said you were okay with that—"

"I am, but I'm not. She's my sister and she won't talk to me. I should be me, not him," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"It's her first morning back. It's been months since we've seen her and you can't expect her to go back to the way things were at the prison, with your father. None of us have been able to do that. You've got to go easier on her," he said. "This is a lot for her and we don't know what she's seen out there… what she's been through—"

"We would if she'd tell us!"

"When she tells us is not our call. We can't force it out of her with eggs and orange juice," Glenn said, gesturing to the meal in front of them. "Is that what this breakfast was all about? Because I thought it was our way of welcoming her home, not… trying to interrogate her."

"I just want to know where my sister's been —"

"We _**do **_know where she's been. We've been there, too, and it's not a good place. It took us a while to feel safe here. Let her feel safe," he said. "She'll tell you when she's ready."

"I don't know what to do for her. Our dad would know. It's like back at the farm all over again. I don't know what to do for her, Glenn," Maggie admitted.

"I don't think it's up to you to do anything, Maggie. She loves you, but she may not need you for this, not right now. She knows what she needs. She needs him—"

Maggie opened her mouth, objections lining up on her tongue.

"Just like you needed me," Glenn finished quickly, causing Maggie to deflate in her argument. She looked at him sadly and shook her head. Glenn slid his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze. "She needs time, and she needs her sister to just be there and be patient with her. Let her come to you," he said.

"I'm supposed to look out for her."

"Beth can look out for herself, now," he said, knowingly.

Maggie looked up when she heard Daryl's bedroom door open, just down the hall. She saw only a flash of the blonde hair moving past the kitchen doorway before Beth fully disappeared into the living room. A moment later, she heard the front door open and close. She knew Beth would be back, but that closing door gave Maggie a flutter of fear that she hadn't felt since before she'd told herself that Beth was dead.

Glenn looked down and sighed. "Look, I know this isn't just about Beth." He moved his hand down and placed it over Maggie's stomach. "I promise, it'll all be okay. We don't have to hide this from her. She'd be happy for us. You should tell her."

She shook her head. "No."

"Maggie—"

"Not yet," she said, sternly.

"Why?" he asked.

"How would it sound?" she asked. "Oh, welcome back, Beth. Told myself you were dead. Let myself believe it? Moved on, settled down, started to build a family. Found a way to be happy without you?"

"You make it sound awful," Glenn said. "It's not like that."

"We moved on, Glenn," Maggie said, the guilt written all over her face, laced in the depths of her voice.

"We… chose to keep living—"

"We moved on and she was alive. The whole time," Maggie said. "But we moved on."

Glenn ran a hand down her hair and leaned in, kissing her temple as she sniffled. "I know… and we'll fix this. We'll make it right. We will." He picked up the fork beside her plate, lifting her hand and closing it around the utensil. "But right now… you should take your own advice… and eat something."

"Where's Beth?" Rick asked as he pushed against another wall, testing it with his full weight.

"Still sleepin' when I left," Daryl said. "This one's loose." He set down his crossbow in the grass as Rick came over, handing him a can of orange spray paint to mark the weak spot for the construction crew to come and secure the rivets and welding on.

Rick watched Daryl spray the large X and an arrow pointing to the section. "Shouldn't you be with her?"

"Hmm?"

"With Beth," Rick clarified.

"Naw, Maggie's there," Daryl said, stepping back and stuffing the paint can back into Rick's satchel.

"Yeah, okay," Rick said, "but… shouldn't _**you **_be with her?

Daryl picked up his crossbow again and slung it over his head, fixing it behind him as he turned to look at his brother. "Why?"

Rick rose an eyebrow and shifted his weight back as he stood with a questioning manner. "Really? You want to act like you're not—" One look at the nervous tension in his eyes and Rick knew this wasn't the time to inquire about that reunion he'd witnessed and just what it meant. He merely fixed his satchel at his side and nodded. "Alright. Fine. Maggie's with her."

"Yeah. She is," Daryl said, walking back up to Rick. "Can we finish this?" he asked, moving past him and continuing along the wall.

"Mmhmm," Rick hummed before turning to follow.

After they were finished, they made it back to the road and started back to the house. Daryl nearly collided with Rick when the man abruptly stopped.

"What the hell?"

Rick merely nodded of to their right before gesturing where Daryl should be looking. "Might wanna to look into that," he said, glancing to Daryl.

Beth was completely turned around. On her own, she'd have had her bearings already, but this was the first place in months where there were people. More people than she'd ever seen in one place in years, honestly. More than at the prison, far more than at the hospital. It was the people who threw her off, now. She wondered when that happened.

She took refuge on a stretch of plush, green lawn beside a quiet pond. It looked like a painting, at least up until the metal walls cut through the landscape in the distance.

"Hey."

Beth turned and looked up to see Daryl walking towards her, his crossbow slung across his back. Rick was behind him, on the road. She saw him nod and continue walking, no doubt heading back home to wake his kids, if they weren't up already. She looked up at Daryl as he came around to sit down in the grass beside her, setting his crossbow aside.

"Thought maybe in this place… you wouldn't have that thing attached to you anymore," she said with a smile.

"Can't ever be too careful," he said, studying her in that way that she'd come to recognize. He was trying to get a read on her without actually coming out and asking how she was. "How long you been out here?"

She shrugged and looked at the water, little ripples appearing on the surface, suggesting there was life somewhere below. "An hour, maybe…"

"Did you eat?" he asked. The way he said it, though… she knew that he had a reason for asking. He probably knew what Maggie and Glenn were planning, but he couldn't have known how poorly it would go.

She shook her head. "No."

"I thought Maggie and Glenn were makin' you breakfast," he said.

"They did." Beth looked at him. "But I had to get out of there."

He figured it out pretty quickly, what probably happened. "She's just worried about you."

"That makes me feel awful," she said.

"What do you mean"

"Guilty," Beth said, looking at him again. "I feel guilty."

"Why?"

She sighed and looked ahead, dropping her good hand into the grass and twisting the long stem of a weed around her fingers. "Because she worries, now. Too much. And I can't help but think how much easier it must have been for her when she thought she didn't have to worry about me anymore."

"You mean when she thought you were dead," he said.

"Yeah," Beth said, looking at him again, her large blue eyes unusually sad at the thought. Not the thought that Maggie would choose to lose hope that was alive, but that her being alive would hold Maggie back in some way. "I get that she moved on. I would've wanted her to. I want my sister to be happy, and all she's doing now—"

"Is worrying," Daryl finished. He nodded and looked down at the grass, plucking a few blades of it himself and tying them into little knots. He got it, now. He understood Beth, probably better than anyone else, and he understood where she was right now. That feeling of wanting to belong, but being unsure if you could.

"She's kind of intense," Beth said.

Daryl glanced over at her. If there was one thing he learned from Beth, it was that silence wasn't always golden, and that leaving things unspoken, unaddressed — not putting them away — would kill you, your heart. "You should talk to her."

"And say what? All of the things she wants to know… I can't—"

"Then just tell her that you're okay. That she doesn't have to worry so much," he said, looking at her.

Beth lifted her head and then slowly looked at him. "Am I okay?"

Daryl dropped the grass he was fiddling with and reached out, putting a hand on her knee, his eyes searching hers with a sense of conviction that felt new to her, in some way, and yet deeply familiar.

"I plan on making sure of it," he said. "That's a promise."


	5. Chapter 5

Follow Me, Beth  
Chapter 5

* * *

Daryl leaned against the wall, his arms folded in their usual manner, hands tucked under his arms. A light flickered overhead and he noticed how Beth's eyes darted around the room. She was alert and aware of everything, and he had to wonder if the clinic somehow brought back the sense of being trapped in Grady Memorial. He wondered if she felt trapped here, claustrophobia, like he did locked in that boxcar at Terminus. Those experiences came back around, that feeling, the anxiety, he knew the most unexpected things could trigger it, and here she was surrounded by people she barely knew, in a sterile environment that smelled like bleach and astringents, bright fluorescent lights overhead and the only exit probably feeling like it was getting further and further away.

That's why he was here, though, standing off to the side, where she could see him — where he could see her. Even though Denise had insisted he leave, he refused to let her be alone again. There was no argument to be had with Daryl when it came to Beth, not now. He was here for her, because he promised she'd be okay, that he would make sure she would be okay. For a long time, all he wanted was to find her, now all he wanted was to be here for her, with her.

He watched as Beth flexed her wrist for the doctor. Denise pressed her bony fingers into Beth's sensitive flesh and when he saw her flinch, it took everything not to react brashly. His whole body felt the surge to respond, but he grit his teeth and steeled his eyes on Denise with a critical gaze.

"How does it feel?" Denise asked.

"Well, it hurts when you do that," Beth said, eying her.

Denise met her gaze and then nodded and picked up a soft brace, sliding it onto Beth's hand and velcroing it. "At least it's not that mess you were wearing when Aaron found you. It really should've come off weeks ago," she said, blaming the weakness in Beth's wrist to the prolonged use of the plaster cast. "This is all you need, now, a soft brace and a couple more weeks. Do the stretches I showed you as often as you can tolerate it, and you'll have full mobility and strength back in it before you know it."

She reached up to touch Beth's scar on her cheek, "You know, I may have some Vitamin E oil if you—"

Beth jerked her head back before Denise could even touch her. "I'm fine."

Denise stepped back and just looked at Beth. "Are you sure about that?"

"She's sure," Daryl said as he pulled away from the wall and came over, placing a hand on Beth's back as she slid off of the table and onto her feet. "Thanks for the check-up, Doc," he said before leading Beth to the exit. He could feel the tension in her back, all of her muscled stiff beneath his fingertips. She was wound tighter than his crossbow and he couldn't blame her.

"You okay?" he asked

Once outside, Beth turned to face him. "She makes me feel like…"

"Like what?"

"…A freak," Beth said, looking at him.

"Why? 'Cause of your scars?" he asked. "You're not."

"I know that," she said. "I'm not ashamed of my scars, Daryl… but the way people look at me here— not at _**me**_, but at _**my scars**_—"

"Screw 'em."

"Daryl—"

"Who cares what they think?" Daryl reached out, his instincts to comfort and protect Beth overriding anything else. He cupped her face with his hand and brushed his thumb over her scar on her cheek. "You know what I think they see?"

She looked at him, wide-eyed and wondering, shaking her head ever so gently against his hand.

"Someone tough, brave, who can take a hit like a damn champ—"

Beth smiled and laughed under her breath.

"Who can come back swingin' and… still be pretty as ever," he said.

Beth blinked a few times and a smiled again. Cautiously, shyly. Despite every kind and good and wonderful thing she'd come to know about Daryl in their time together, things no one else had ever seen from him, he still surprised her in the most amazing ways. From the nervousness suddenly entering his eyes, it appeared he surprised himself, too. She wanted to say something, thank him, but knew saying anything would only make him retreat more quickly. So she just… smiled.

That smile being different from the last, it gave him that strange little flutter in his stomach, which seemed to immediately rise into his chest. He cleared his throat and let his hands fall away to his sides once more. "I mean… they're just jealous."

"Of scars?"

"No," he said. "Of you, Beth."

She shook her head, gripping her bound wrist with her good hand and flexing it a bit. Turning her hand over, she looked at the bare scar on her other wrist and recalled the moment Dawn tried to shame her over it… but scars, she learned, were badges. Permanent amulets of survival and courage.

"Not one of them could make it outside these walls the way you could, and they know it," Daryl said. "'Cause they see the scars and that you're still standin'."

Beth looked at him and saw that he was still standing there, like some breathing statue, just watching her in a manner so much like that night in the prison, where he'd loomed in her doorway, unwilling to leave her to her own thoughts. She smiled at him. "I'll wear them proudly, then," she said.

He nodded, the corners of his firmly pressed lips curling up slightly. The wobble in his head as he moved it said it all, that jovial little spark that showed he was feeling quite pleased with himself for making her smile.

"Excuse me. Beth?" Aaron approached them, drawing both her and Daryl's attention. "Now that you've had a night to settle in and see your family, Douglas would like to meet you."

"Who?" Beth asked, looking at Daryl.

He sighed, "Douglas Monroe. Guy in charge here."

"He likes to meet with all newcomers," Aaron said. "Speak with them. Get to know them—"

"Interrogate them," Daryl said, clearly not too keen on the man. For whatever reason, it just felt like there was something off with Douglas, and Daryl didn't like when he couldn't put his finger on it.

Aaron just smiled at Daryl's jab and returned his attention to Beth. "It all helps him determine if it's a good fit and just what sort of job you'd do best with."

"I'll go with ya," Daryl assured her.

"Douglas has a process. You know that. He only meets with people one-on-one in these meetings," Aaron explained.

"Yeah, I remember," Daryl said. He also remembered the way Maggie and Rosita both came out of that office after speaking with him, uncomfortable, tense. Neither said anything, but Daryl knew them and he knew when something was amiss. Hell if he was letting Beth go in there without him a stones throw from her side. "I'm still goin' with her."

"Then you can wait outside," Aaron said.

Daryl shrugged.

"Come with me, then," Aaron said, turning and walking off.

Beth looked at Daryl, who reached out and let his hand settle on the small of her back. "Let's get this over with, huh?"

"Who is this guy?" Beth asked quietly as they walked.

"Douglas?" Daryl asked.

She nodded.

"Some old guy. Runs things 'round here. Harmless. A bit of a privileged dick, but can't blame 'im when you look at how good they've had it compared to us," Daryl said.

"This place doesn't feel real," Beth said.

He looked at her. "But it is."

"No, I mean… when things are too good to be true—"

Daryl nodded. "Well, we're on our guard. And, besides, you're here with us, now. We're all together. That's what matters. Right?"

Beth smiled, leaning into him and bumping her shoulder into his as she looked up at Daryl. "Right."


End file.
